Coming Home
by Ryeloza
Summary: Maya Angelou: “You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right.”  A story about family.
1. The Letter

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own _Charmed_. I wish I did, but I don't.

**A/n: **This is a story set during the holidays (it begins right before Thanksgiving and goes up to Christmas) and it deals with two families we never learned much about on _Charmed_. This features Piper, Paige and Phoebe and their respective families, as well as some original characters. I really hope everyone who reads this enjoys the story.

_Katie_

**Setting**: November/December 2006

**Coming Home**

"You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right."

-Maya Angelou

**One: The Letter**

Paige Matthews was standing in the kitchen of her sister's home, leaning against the island and peeling an orange. She was fairly sure that the pile of peel she was leaving on the counter was annoying her sister, but Piper was too distracted by the double batch of brownies she was preparing to comment.

"Are those for Thanksgiving?" asked Paige, finally freeing the orange and pulling out a slice.

"No," said Piper. "It just felt like a brownie day. I'm making pies for Thanksgiving."

"Oh," said Paige. She stuffed another slice into her mouth and spoke with her mouth full. "Don't most people clean the kitchen out before Thanksgiving instead of filling it up?"

Piper raised an eyebrow, obviously somewhat disgusted, and then shrugged. "I guess I'm not most people." She picked up the orange peels and tossed them into the sink. "What's up, Paige? I don't think you came over just to talk about my cooking."

Paige smiled, happy that Piper knew her so well. Somehow, it made things easier. "I had a letter from my grammy this week," she said.

"Your grammy?" said Piper, a light laugh in her tone. She began to pour the batter into a tray. "I didn't know you had a grammy."

"I don't see her very often," said Paige. "The last time was at my cousin's wedding and that was before I met you. But I write her letters as often as I can and I got one back from her a few days ago."

"Well that's nice," said Piper. She opened the oven and pulled out the first batch of brownies, setting it on the cooling rack on the counter. Paige got the distinct impression that she was only half-listening.

"Anyway," said Paige, "the reason I'm telling you this is because I want to read you part of the letter. Piper? Are you listening?"

"Read me part of the letter," said Piper, putting the second tray of brownies in the oven and fiddling with the timer. "There!" she said. She turned around and leaned against the island, staring at Paige. "You have my undivided attention."

"Good," said Paige. She reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a slightly crinkled letter written on lavender stationary. Unfolding it and trying to press out some of the wrinkles, she cleared her throat. "Okay," she said. "Here it goes. 'Paige, I'm very sorry I couldn't be there for your wedding. My hip is better, but I don't think it will ever be what it once was. That is to say, I don't think it's going to permit me to travel much anymore. You know what they say: once you've broken a bone it's a downhill slide.'"

Piper's mouth dropped open. "That's awful!" she said.

"Shh!" said Paige. "That's just Grammy. She's pragmatic. And that's not the part I wanted you to hear." She cleared her throat and continued. "'That said, I'd like to invite you and your whole family here for the Christmas holidays. I'm dying to meet your husband and you know I've been terribly interested in your sisters since you first mentioned them. You're all welcome for the entire month of December, up through the new year—however long you'd like, dear. Please call and let me know (your uncles still have my number, if you've lost it).'"

That's it," said Paige. "Well obviously that's not it; she wrote a lot more, but that's all I wanted you to hear. What do you think?"

"What do I think about what?" asked Piper. Paige rolled her eyes.

"What do you think about going to my grammy's house for Christmas? It doesn't have to be the whole month. Henry and I discussed it and we were thinking about going up the week before Christmas and staying through the new year. What do you think?"

"I…Well…I don't know, Paige," said Piper.

"Please, Piper," said Paige. "At least think about it. This is the first Christmas I feel like we've really been together as a whole family. I mean, the first Christmas with Henry and Coop and where everyone is safe and happy. I want to spend it with you and Phoebe, but I also really want to see my grammy. I haven't seen her in over five years and I don't know how much longer she's going to live."

"Paige, Paige, Paige," said Piper, holding up a hand in a stop gesture. "Just slow down. I'll think about it, okay? And I'll talk to Leo and see what he thinks."

"Thank you," said Paige.

"Where does your grammy live, anyway?"

"Virginia," said Paige. "It's this big, beautiful farmhouse. Tons of room. Snow!"

Piper smiled. "Did you ever think about a career in sales?"

"Ha ha," said Paige, dryly. Piper shrugged and then tossed one of her oven mitts at Paige, who caught it easily.

"So you'll talk to Leo?" asked Paige.

"Definitely," said Piper.

"Okay. I'm going to go, then. I want to catch Phoebe and talk to her."

"Stop back later," said Piper. "I want to give you some brownies, but they're not cool yet."

"I will," said Paige, walking to Piper and giving her a quick hug. Then she orbed out.

Phoebe, unsurprisingly, was much quicker to convince. For one, when Paige orbed in, she found Phoebe and Coop making out on the couch, so she was able to talk to both of them at once. Also, once she read the letter and explained where Grammy lived, Coop became as excited as a small child, thrilled by the prospect of a white Christmas. With him on board, Phoebe accepted the invitation on the condition that Piper came too.

Paige had no idea whether or not her oldest sister would. Just a year ago she was certain the answer would have been no, but for the past seven months, Piper had been aglow with happiness. Never before had she seen Piper this joyous, and she wanted nothing more in the world than for her happiness to last. So maybe, just maybe, Piper would be open to doing something different for Christmas this year.

When Paige returned to Piper's for the brownies, Piper didn't mention the letter or Christmas, and Paige didn't ask. She knew better that to nag Piper, particularly when it had only been a little over an hour. She arrived home with the brownies to find Henry not home yet, so she sat down in the living room and pulled out the letter again.

She had chosen not to read the section right before the invitation to either Piper or Phoebe, but it was the section she had been dwelling on most. Now she read it again, not quite sure why.

"Tony told me some about your wedding, Paige, but of course I was thrilled to receive the pictures with your last letter. The ceremony looked beautiful and you were positively glowing, dear. Henry looks like quite a catch.

"I was, though, quite distressed to hear that your uncle Tony was the only member of the family able to attend your wedding. I know, of course, that you decided to get married quickly, but that is beside the point. We all feel as though you are pulling away from the family; that you feel that you must choose between your sisters and us. I know that all of us were thrilled when you found your sisters; I always thought it was a shame that you did not grow up with siblings. But I hope that you don't feel that it has to be us or them, because it can be both. I'm sure your sisters feel the same way.

"Perhaps I shouldn't say anything, darling, but I love you—we all love you—and I miss you greatly. Honestly, I only bring this up because I want to remind you that you are still part of this family, not to make you feel guilty or to harangue you into doing something you have no desire to do. I know how it feels to lose your family, and I don't want that to happen to you.

"I suppose I've stuck my nose in where it doesn't belong. Maybe I should go back and simply say: Paige, I'm very sorry I couldn't be there for your wedding. My hip is better, but I don't think it will ever be what it once was. That is to say, I don't think it's going to permit me to travel much anymore. You know what they say: once you've broken a bone it's a downhill slide."

Paige sighed and set the letter down on the coffee table. Grammy may not have intended to upset her, but her words had brought home a truth that had been skirting through Paige's mind for awhile now. She was pulling away from her adopted family, not by choice and not because she wanted to, but because it was almost as though she couldn't have two families.

Being a Halliwell was demanding, not only because of the demons and magic and secrets, but also because her sisters wanted so much of her time. For them, family was sisterhood. They hadn't grown up with aunts and uncles and cousins. Their childhood had been them against the world, and that mindset had continued into adulthood, magic or no magic.

Most of the time, Paige didn't mind this, because she had always wanted sisters. Now she realized, though, that instead of allowing her sisters to become part of her family as she had become part of theirs, she had simply cut out her adopted family because it had been easier. She had thought of it wrong, she realized now. She had thought of it as having two families instead of one, and since two had been too much to handle, she had unintentionally cut one out.

If she was going to correct this, now was the best time. Not just because her grammy was old and had pointed out the truth, but also because she was now married. Eventually, she hoped, she and Henry would have kids. And with a husband and kids, would her life become three families between which to choose? No, she had to work on ending the compartmentalization of her life now, before it came to that.

The door opened and Henry came in, tugging off his coat and throwing it onto a chair near the entrance to their apartment. He sighed, coming into the living room with scarcely a word and collapsing onto the couch next to Paige. He looked as physically exhausted as Paige was mentally.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," said Henry.

"Long day?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want some dinner?"

"Dinner would be great," said Henry. "What do we have?"

Paige furrowed her brow, thinking for a moment. "We have brownies," she said, gesturing to the Tupperware she had set on the coffee table when she came in.

Henry stared at the brownies for a minute and then nodded. "Cool," he said. "Let's eat."


	2. A Scene of Domesticity

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own _Charmed_. I wish I did, but I don't.

**A/n: **I know that in "Forever Charmed" it was stated that Leo went back to teaching at magic school, but I'm going to make this slightly AU by ignoring that. Honestly, I really didn't like anything about magic school, so in my post-series stories it doesn't exist.

Thanks for the reviews so far!

_Katie_

**Setting**: November/December 2006

**Coming Home**

"You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right."

-Maya Angelou

**Two: A Scene of Domesticity**

While Paige and Henry were slouched on the couch sharing two dozen brownies for dinner, fifteen miles away Leo had just come home to a house saturated with the smell of homemade spaghetti. Within seconds, Wyatt had run up to him and flung his arms around Leo's legs, Chris toddling behind him as quickly as he could.

"Hey, buddy," said Leo to Wyatt, ruffling his hair. Chris collided with Leo's left leg and jumped up and down a couple of times excitedly. Grinning, Leo bent down and picked Chris up, raising him above his head and then back to the ground. Chris shrieked, delighted.

"Daddy, guess what?" said Wyatt. He grabbed Leo's hand and began tugging on it to make sure he had Leo's attention.

"What?" asked Leo.

"We had s'ghetti for dinner!"

That much was obvious, both from the smell and the fact that both of his children had spaghetti sauce all over their faces. "Mmm," said Leo, scooping Chris up again so he could walk through the house. Wyatt continued to hold onto his other hand. "Was it good?"

"Yeah," said Wyatt.

"Good!" echoed Chris.

Leo led them back into the kitchen and found Piper cleaning off Chris' high chair, which appeared to have spaghetti sauce from one end of the tray to the other. "Hi," said Leo, leaning in to give Piper a quick kiss. She smiled.

"Hi," she said. She looked down at Wyatt. "Come on, Wyatt," she said. "It's time to finish up dinner."

Wyatt dropped Leo's hand and went back to his chair, climbing up and picking up a fork that seemed to be buried in a plate half-full of spaghetti. Leo shook his head, amused, and walked to the sink to wash off Chris' face. "How was your day?" he asked.

Piper raised an eyebrow which Leo took to mean, "wait until I tell you what happened," and then said, "Good. Interesting."

"What happened?" asked Leo. He managed to get the sauce off of Chris and took a seat at the table, happy to be off his feet for a minute. Piper finished with the high chair and leaned back against the island, her arms crossed.

"Nothing bad," said Piper. "Paige came over for a little while."

"How's she?" asked Leo. Chris began squirming and Leo set him down. Immediately, his younger son took off towards the conservatory, where Leo was sure he had a large collection of toys strewn about the room.

"She's good," said Piper. "I think. Actually, she seemed kind of distracted, but that's not the point. Did you know that Paige has a grandmother?"

"Doesn't everyone?" asked Leo. Piper swatted at him with the washcloth she was still holding.

"I mean her grandmother is still alive and living in Virginia, apparently. Paige never mentioned her before, at least to me. Did she say anything to you?"

"No," said Leo. "But Paige never really talks about her family, does she?"

Piper snorted. "Pot calling the kettle black," she said. "You won't even tell me anything about your father, the man we apparently named our son after."

Leo decided not to fall into this baiting, as he and Piper had had this conversation more times than he cared to count. He had learned that it was better just to ignore these remarks and move on. "So Paige has a grandmother you just learned of today. Is that all?"

"No," said Piper. "The grandmother invited us to her place for Christmas."

"Us?" said Leo. "As in you and me and the kids?"

"And Paige and Henry and Phoebe and Coop," said Piper. "The whole family. Paige really wants us to go."

"To Virginia?"

"Yes."

"And you don't want to go?"

Piper sighed and crossed the room to the stove, where she began to pile two plates high with pasta. Leo stood and went to help her, waiting for her to speak. Once he had both plates in hand, she did. "I don't know what I want to do," she said. "I've never spent a Christmas anywhere other than here. In the manor," she added unnecessarily.

"So we won't go," said Leo.

"I didn't say that," said Piper, taking her plate from his hand and going to the table. Leo followed her. "Paige really, really wants to go. I can tell. But she also wants to spend the day with us. And Paige was very supportive last year, while you were…gone. I feel like I should stop being selfish and give her what she wants."

"So let's go," said Leo. "It's just one Christmas."

"Yeah, I know," said Piper. "But am I going to feel comfortable in a stranger's house? Do I want to go through that on Christmas? And what if the boys do magic in front of Paige's grandmother? Or her whole family? She didn't say who all was coming. What if we all fight the entire time and Christmas is miserable? What—"

"Whoa," said Leo. "Slow down. You can ask Paige how much of her family is coming. And as far as getting along with everyone, well, you never know for sure, but they did help to raise Paige and you love her. And like I said before, it's only one year. If it's that much of a disaster we can celebrate again when we get back home."

"You're right," said Piper. "I know you're right. I just feel…I don't know. Hesitant or something. Like I know something is going to go wrong."

Leo wanted to tell her that nothing would go wrong, but with their family's track record it wouldn't be a fair assumption. He settled for saying, "Isn't it worth it, for Paige?"

Piper stared at her plate for a moment, and then looked up and nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Yeah, it is."

"Then that's your answer," said Leo. He squeezed her knee under the table and then picked up his fork, digging into the spaghetti. Slowly, Piper did the same.

"So how was your day?" she asked.

"Good," said Leo. "I'm almost done at the Myers'. There's probably only another week of work left."

"Mommy?" said Wyatt from across the table.

"Yes?" said Piper.

"Can I be done now?" he asked. Piper glanced at his plate a nodded, but when Wyatt jumped up and began running out of the room, Piper said, "Hold on a second, mister. You need your face and hands washed."

"I'll do it," said Leo. He stood and guided Wyatt to the sink, where he began to scrub off the stubborn sauce stains.

"How is Mrs. Myers?" asked Piper.

"I don't know," said Leo. "She was only there long enough to let me in this morning." He gave Wyatt a pat on his behind and said, "Good to go, Wyatt," then watched as his son fled the room.

"Hmm," said Piper. Leo threw a look over his shoulder and saw that she was staring at him with mirth dancing in her eyes. He stood up. "I don't know how I feel about you being a handyman again, you know," she said. "After all, that's how you seduced me."

"By being a handyman?" asked Leo, laughter in his voice.

"The tight pants, the tools," said Piper, now grinning. "How could I resist?"

"And here I thought it was my charm," said Leo. He sat back down and leaned over to kiss Piper again before turning back to his dinner.


	3. Lost

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own _Charmed_. I wish I did, but I don't.

**A/n: **This is my first attempt at a Coop point of view. I'm not sure how I feel about it; Coop's odd for me to write.

Thanks so much for the reviews! You guys are amazing!

_Katie_

**Coming Home**

"You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right."

-Maya Angelou

**Three: Lost**

"This finally feels like a real Thanksgiving," said Phoebe. The night was chilled, and Phoebe stamped her foot against the pavement, waiting for Coop to get out of the car. Her heel made a satisfying click against the pavement.

"Why wouldn't it feel like a real Thanksgiving?" asked Coop as he stepped out.

"I don't know," said Phoebe. "When we were little it was always just us and Grams. And Grams didn't really like Thanksgiving. I'm not sure why."

"And then it was just you and your sisters," supplied Coop knowingly. He slammed the car door and walked around to Phoebe, taking her gloved hand. They began to head towards the house.

"Right," said Phoebe. "I guess I just grew up hearing all my friends talking about seeing their cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents, and it was always just our little family. It just seemed like dinner every other night. But now it feels like the whole family is finally together. It feels right, you know?"

"Sure," said Coop. He didn't really. He understood, the way anyone could, but that wasn't the same as knowing. In all honestly, this was his first Thanksgiving, and he had only been part of a family for three months now. He was still getting used to this whole new world.

Phoebe gave him an odd little smile he couldn't decipher and then reached out to open the door. Before she could, Coop put a hand on her shoulder and turned her attention towards him. "I love you," he said.

"I love you too," said Phoebe. Then she stood on her toes to give him a quick peck on the lips. The next thing he knew, the door was open and he and Phoebe were inside.

"Piper!" called Phoebe, unbuttoning her coat. Coop followed her lead, and hung up both their coats on the pegs on the wall near the door. Then he followed his wife into the living room, where Henry was sitting on the floor playing with Wyatt.

"Hey," he said as they came into the room.

"Hey," said Phoebe, crossing the room and crouching down next to Wyatt. "Where is everyone?"

"Paige is in the kitchen supposedly helping Piper," said Henry with a smirk. "Leo went to change Chris."

Phoebe stood and turned to face Coop. "I'm going to go see what my sisters are up to," she said, planting a swift kiss on Coop.

Part of Coop wanted to follow Phoebe, but he didn't think she would appreciate his presence, so he hung back. He didn't know Henry very well, though, so he felt somewhat awkward. If he wanted to, of course, he could have discussed Henry's love life. Somehow he didn't think Henry would appreciate that, though. Especially if he brought up one Jessica Hopkins.

"So," said Henry, "how's it going?"

"It's going good," said Coop. "How are you?"

"Can't complain. I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm about to eat the best Thanksgiving meal of my life and the only decent food I've had in two weeks," said Henry. He smiled; Henry always seemed to be smiling.

"I take it you guys don't cook," said Coop.

Henry laughed. "Absolutely not. We're both terrible. We try, but we don't often succeed."

Coop smiled, though he was only politely amused, and said, "So, Christmas in Virginia."

"Never been," said Leo, coming back into the room. He set Chris on the floor and the toddler immediately took off running towards his brother. "Isn't that strange? Sixty-plus years of being a Whitelighter and I've never had a charge in Virginia."

"Paige promised snow," said Coop, trying to hide some of the excitement in his voice. Snow was romantic and beautiful, two things Coop entirely understood. It was this, more than anything, to which he was looking forward.

"Well, hopefully," said Henry. "I mean, Paige can't control the weather or anything." Just then, Paige came into the living room, stopping behind Henry and tussling his hair.

"Did I hear my name?" she asked.

"Just saying that you can't control the weather," said Henry, turning his head to look up at her. "You can't, right?"

"I couldn't the last time I checked."

"Too bad," said Henry. "That would be a cool power."

Paige shook her head as though exasperated, but her eyes shone and Coop knew she was anything but. "Dinner's ready," she said. "And you better like it. We did a lot of work."

"You mean Piper did a lot of work," said Henry, getting to his feet.

"I supervised," said Paige. Leo laughed.

* * *

Coop was quiet during dinner. The girls were speaking with an ease Coop found comforting. Love between siblings was a unique and interesting phenomenon that he didn't have as much firsthand experience with. In all, the home was so warm and full of love right then that Coop could have burst from it. How lucky was he? 

And it was luck, after all. Coop wasn't sure why he had been chosen to love Phoebe. In all honesty, it could have been any cupid. All cupids were susceptible to love and they all loved the humans they helped. Any one could have chosen to marry. But they had asked Coop. Did he resemble Phoebe's type? Was that the reason? Or perhaps it was because he was one of the older cupids and more experienced? He honestly didn't know, particularly because Phoebe had fallen for her cupid before. Why not that cupid?

The entire idea had been the Elders. For reasons not entirely clear to Coop, they thought that the Charmed Ones should be given some sort of reward. Why that reward should be in the form of a love match, Coop had no idea. He also wasn't sure why giving Phoebe a lover was the equivalent of rewarding all of the Charmed Ones. But who was he to question authority?

Phoebe, of course, knew none of this and Coop had no particular notion to tell her. He was more aware of Phoebe's thoughts on love more than any of her other thoughts; she wouldn't find this random love match romantic. The only thing he had told her was that he might not stay a cupid forever.

He had been warned that eventually he would probably stop being a cupid. There were previous cupids who had married humans and every one had become prone to human follies; the painful side of love. A cupid simply couldn't remain forever in love with love once he had spent too much time among humans and seen too much. Somehow, even though Coop had been told this would happen, he couldn't quite imagine it. The entire idea seemed to be some hazy future that he would never actually reach.

"So how much of your family is going to be in Virginia?" asked Leo. A slight flicker of his eyes to Piper indicated that he was really asking on her behalf.

"My grammy," said Paige. "Obviously. My two uncles and their wives. And us. None of my cousins can make it, unfortunately."

"Cousins," said Phoebe with a grin. "How exotic."

"You don't have any?" asked Coop.

Phoebe glanced at Piper with the question in her expression. "Do we?" she asked. "Dad had siblings."

Piper shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I guess we might. But we've never met them. I don't think we ever even met Dad's parents."

The words, so casually spoken, caused Coop's stomach to knot. The idea of lost relatives, of lost love, caused an ache. Glimpsing around the table, Coop was surprised to see both Henry and Leo also seemed lost in thought over Piper's words. But then, neither of them had family either, other than the ones they were building now. Perhaps they were thinking of what they had lost.

Lost. The most desolate word Coop knew. And all three of the men at the table were thinking it now.

A moment later, though, both Henry and Leo had rejoined the conversation and the common link was gone.


	4. In Flight Thoughts

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own _Charmed_. I wish I did, but I don't.

**A/n: **Sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter up. I actually have a ton of the middle of the story written, so updates should be closer together from now on. This chapter is really a transition to the next part of the story. I promise there will be a lot more action soon.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far!

_Katie_

**Setting**: November/December 2006

**Coming Home**

"You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right."

-Maya Angelou

**Four: In-Flight Thoughts**

"This seat is uncomfortable," said Henry. He wriggled in the tight airplane seat and leaned out into the aisle, glaring up to where first class was. "We should have sprung for first class tickets."

"We can't afford first class tickets," said Paige. She was reading a magazine as though she had no concern in the world. Henry suddenly envied her lithe, womanly form; these seats probably weren't nearly as uncomfortable for her. "Do you want to trade seats?"

"No," said Henry. "Surprisingly, I like being in the aisle."

Paige smiled, though she didn't take her eyes off of the magazine. "So get out a book or a magazine and distract yourself. You're so odd about flying."

"I'm not odd," said Henry, though he knew quite well that he was. "And I don't feel like reading."

"Then take a nap," said Paige, "because I do feel like reading."

"Okay, okay," said Henry. "I'll leave you be." He wanted to kiss her, but he felt so wedged in the seat that he didn't think he could move without making himself more uncomfortable. Instead he opted for patting her knee before shutting his eyes and trying to block out his surroundings.

Henry had been looking forward to this trip since Paige had first mentioned it last month. As much as he loved Paige's biological family—and he was extremely fond of them—he had wanted to meet the people who helped raise her for a long time. Paige had told him that after her parents had died she'd gone to live with her uncle John and aunt Julie. John was her mother's older brother and he had two children, both of whom had been out of the house by the time Paige had moved in. She also had another uncle, younger than her mother, who she had been very close to when she was younger because his two daughters were closer to her age. Henry wished that some of her cousins were coming to Virginia too.

The only problem with thinking so much about Paige's family was that it also forced Henry to think of his own. When he was four, he and his older sister had become property of the state because their mother had died of an overdose. No one had any idea who their father was and their mother had no other living family members, so they'd been shuffled from one foster home to another. As a result Henry had spent a lot of his childhood imagining some long-lost relative coming to save him and his sister or finally meeting people who wanted to adopt them. When he got older, this vision changed to marrying into a big family who would welcome him and his sister as their own. He still couldn't quite believe that this dream had come true, at least for him.

During his years in the foster care system, Henry had only been placed in the same home as his older sister twice. They hadn't been in the same home when she had died, and Henry still remembered the day the social worker showed up to tell him as one of the worst in his life. He'd been fifteen at the time; it was suicide he was told. That had been the day he'd finally decided he was going to do something to contribute to the system—to help others like him—instead of acting out in defiance of it.

He still hadn't told Paige this story. When she first asked him if he had siblings he had said he had none. This was technically true, of course, but he hadn't clarified the story by telling Paige about Anna. Speaking of Anna was incredibly painful for him, and Henry didn't see any reason to bring her up in regular conversation. Paige, he was sure, would disagree with this reasoning, but the thought did nothing to motivate him to confess. What did it matter anyway? Telling Paige wouldn't bring Anna back. Telling Paige wouldn't accomplish anything.

Which is why he stayed quiet.

* * *

Phoebe had brought her laptop so she could work on her articles while in Virginia—she still owed Elise three more to last until she got back home—but she found herself completely distracted on the flight. Somehow everyone had wound up in the same section except for her, so she was stuck nearly ten rows back from the rest of her family. Coop had felt bad, she could tell, but there was nothing he could do about it. "Don't worry," she had told him. "Now I'll be able to work without any distractions." 

Well she'd been wrong about that. Even though none of her family was in the vicinity, Phoebe still found herself unable to concentrate. The letter she was supposed to respond to was from a woman about to wed who was worried that she was still in love with her first husband. Phoebe really wanted to destroy any evidence that the letter existed, but she couldn't. Not that she knew how to answer it anyway; she was still struggling with a similar question herself.

She didn't—absolutely did not—still love Cole. That would be absurd. After all, he'd been gone for nearly four years now and even before he'd died she had been utterly fed up with him. The point was, she couldn't help but notice that she didn't love Coop the way she had loved Cole. Which was stupid. So stupid. After all, Coop was handsome and sweet and loving and he had a decent sense of humor. He was heaven sent; how could she not be in love with him?

There just didn't seem to be any passion between them. When Phoebe had been with Cole, she'd needed him desperately, and he had needed her even more desperately. Their relationship was intoxicating and beautiful and she hadn't been able to get enough of it. When she had married Cole she had been dizzy in love.

The only thing she remembered feeling at her wedding to Coop was comfortable. That's what their relationship was: comfortable. They were relatively happy and calm with each other and she did love him, but it wasn't what she thought love in a marriage should be. Whenever she doubted her marriage though, she simply reminded herself that it was because she and Cole had had a relationship based so much on passion that their relationship had failed. Passionate love turned to passionate hatred much too quickly.

Of course the little nit in her mind that kept her from truly believing this was her sisters. When she looked at Paige and Henry and, especially, Piper and Leo she saw the kind of love that had that passion. The despite-everything-I-never-want-to-live-without-you kind of love. So if their marriages flourished on that kind of love, what was really the source of her and Cole's failure? This was the thought nagging at her now, and she was trying hard not to answer the question. She was terribly afraid that if she dug too deep she'd realize that her and Cole's relationship falling apart wasn't destiny, but failure on both of their parts. And that train of thought could only lead to dangerous places.

What was her problem anyway? Coop was wonderful. Coop was perfect. Who could ask for anything more? She turned back to the letter, putting her own marriage out of her mind and concentrating on Torn-Up Terri.

* * *

Piper was seated between Coop and Leo, and Coop had very graciously offered to hold Wyatt for awhile. The cupid seemed awfully comfortable and loving around the kids, and so Piper trusted him. He wasn't quite as much of a natural as Henry was, but she thought he'd make a good father some day. Sometime, Piper made a mental note, she'd have to tell Phoebe that. Every once in awhile Phoebe seemed to doubt her decision to marry Coop, and Piper thought that this might reassure her. 

Of course, if Phoebe truly didn't want to be married to Coop she should probably get out of it before bringing kids into the middle of it. Piper could just be reading too much into her sister's behavior though. And she should probably just stay out if it. That's what Leo would tell her to do. That was the right thing to do. The problem was, staying out of it, not knowing, would only increase her worry.

Granted, in the grand scheme of things, Phoebe's marriage problems were low on her worrying radar at the moment. She was much more concerned with the feeling in the pit of her stomach that something bad was going to happen on this trip. Over and over again she'd been telling herself that the entire thing was for Paige. She'd talked herself into and out of going so many times that Piper scarcely believed she was actually on the plane, halfway to the east coast.

For the life of her, Piper couldn't pinpoint what she thought was going to happen. The kids doing magic in front of Paige's family? A demon showing up? Some sort of odd tension between the families? Somehow none of the scenarios, though all very possible, seemed to accurately describe the dread she felt. There was something else, something she wasn't even considering, that loomed on the horizon. She'd tried to explain this to Leo a couple of days ago, but he had chalked it up to nerves and wrote it off.

God, Piper hoped that this was one of those times Leo was right.

It turned out that it wasn't one of those times, though. And in a few hours, Piper would find out exactly how wrong Leo was.


	5. Strange and Unusual

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own _Charmed_. I wish I did, but I don't.

**A/n: **Thanks for the feedback! I hope you continue to enjoy this story.

**Setting**: November/December 2006

**Coming Home**

"You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right."

Maya Angelou

**Five: Strange and Unusual**

Paige practically jumped as Henry rounded the bend in the road and Grammy's house came into sight. The house looked the same as it had the last time Paige had been there: the same porch with the swing; the same whitewashed color with the green shutters; the same rose bushes near the stairs. The sight was almost dream-like; the last time Paige had actually been to her grammy's house she had been ten. She hadn't thought that after all these years the house would actually resemble what she remembered, but it did.

"That's it!" said Paige, pointing out the obvious. The house was the only one around as it used to be a farmhouse; clearly it was the right place.

"It's pretty," said Piper from the back seat. "I just hope that Leo, Phoebe and Coop can manage to find it."

"They'll be fine. They can always call for directions," said Paige as Henry parked the car. As soon as he came to a stop she opened the door and hopped out, practically skipping to the front door. Henry laughed at her eagerness and was kind enough to help Piper get the kids out of the car. Impatient, Paige rang the doorbell while rubbing her gloved hands together; she felt like she was ten again.

Piper was climbing the stairs with Chris balanced on her hip when Grammy finally opened the door. "Grammy!" said Paige, throwing her arms around the older woman and hugging her tightly.

"Oh! Hello, sweetie," said Grammy. She patted Paige on the back and Paige stepped back to actually look at her grandmother. Unlike the house, Grammy looked a little worse for the wear compared to when Paige had seen her last. She was still about as tall as Paige, her posture had not weakened in her later years, but she looked much thinner than she had five years ago. Most strangely, around her eyes she looked tired; when last Paige had seen her those eyes were alert and dancing. The sight depressed Paige's spirit, but only for a moment. After all, now that there would be family in the house, Grammy was sure to get life back in her quickly.

Paige stepped into the house, followed closely by Piper and Henry with the kids and Grammy shut the door as soon as they were all inside. "It's cold out there," she said, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Colder than San Francisco," said Piper.

"That's certainly true," said Grammy with a smile. "So you're Piper or Phoebe?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Grammy," said Paige. "This is Piper and this," she wrapped her hands around Henry's forearm, "is my husband Henry. Guys, this is my grandmother, Mariella."

"Hi," said Henry a little sheepishly.

"My, you're handsome," said Grammy. "You picked a looker, Paige. Family trait of course; my John was a looker too."

"Uh, thanks," said Henry. He glanced over at Piper who glanced back with mirth in her eyes.

"Let me take your coats," said Grammy. She immediately began to help Paige out of hers. "Where is everyone else?"

"Still at the airport," said Paige. "They lost some of the luggage, so they stayed behind to fill out forms or find it or something."

"Oh dear," said Grammy. "Well I hope they find the place okay. It's a bit confusing."

"Told you," said Piper who had finally maneuvered out of her coat and was now helping Chris out of his.

"They'll be fine," said Paige again. "Phoebe's got her cell phone with her."

Grammy began to hang up the coats in the hall closet and Paige assisted her. Once they were done, Grammy turned and did what Paige supposed she had been holding off on doing for as long as she could: held out her arms towards Chris. "Now who's going to introduce me to these little darlings?" asked Grammy. She scooped Chris away from Piper before Piper could say anything and Paige was pleased that Piper's look of annoyance was only fleeting.

"Well that's Chris," said Piper.

"He's adorable," said Grammy. "How old?"

"He just turned two."

"Quite the young man then," said Grammy. She turned her attention to Wyatt who Henry had put down to take off his coat. Wyatt wrapped an arm around Piper's leg nervously. "And this little gentleman?"

"This is Wyatt," said Piper, laying a hand on Wyatt's head. "He's almost four."

Grammy faltered for a moment, as though she had been caught unaware. "Wyatt. What an interesting name. You don't hear that too often."

"He's named after Leo, Grammy," said Paige after a moment. "Piper's husband, Leo Wyatt. I thought I told you that."

Grammy looked down at Chris, the blood draining from her face. "No. You never told me that, Paige," she said. She pushed Chris back into Piper's arms. "If you'll excuse me," she said. "I have a lot to get ready for dinner."

"Do you want any help?" offered Piper, obviously trying to distill the sudden tension. She glanced at Paige anxiously.

"No thank you, dear. I'll just be…" Grammy gestured down the hall towards the kitchen and walked away without another word.

"Okay…" said Paige as soon as Grammy was out of earshot. "Well that was bizarre."

"You don't think…" said Piper nervously. She shook her head. "No. That's crazy."

"What?" asked Paige and Henry at the same time. Paige smiled at that, in spite of the situation.

"I was just going to say, you don't think she knows Leo, do you? I mean from before he died."

"No!" said Paige. Denial seemed instinctive. "I mean, she couldn't, could she?"

"She certainly reacted to the name," said Henry astutely.

"How old is she?" asked Piper.

"Eighty-four," said Paige. "I mean, yeah she was alive then. And she was living in San Francisco, but… No. You don't think?"

"I really hope not," said Piper, shifting Chris' weight to her other side. "Or we're going to have a problem when Leo gets here."

Paige groaned and then shook her head. "No," she said. "It would be too big of a coincidence. I don't believe it."

"I thought you guys didn't believe in coincidences. I thought everything was fate," said Henry.

"Well I believe in them right now," said Paige stubbornly. "We're just blowing this all out of proportion. It's nothing. Grammy's just old and frail and tired, that's all."

Henry shrugged; Piper bit her lip anxiously. "Look," said Paige. "Let's just get the luggage in here and then go on a walk. Cool our heads."

"All right," said Henry, sounding pleased. Piper, however, shook her head.

"You guys go," she said. "I've got to get the boys down for a nap. And I'll stick around in case Phoebe calls for directions."

"Are you sure?" asked Paige.

"Yeah," said Piper. "Go. I'll be fine."

Paige raised an eyebrow; she had a feeling Piper was going to do some snooping and Paige wasn't sure she approved. She had no way of proving it or preventing it, though, so instead she just nodded. "I'll go tell Grammy what's going on," she said.

Paige just wished she knew what was going on with Grammy.


	6. The Truth

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own _Charmed_. Darn!

**A/n: **Sorry, this is a very short chapter, but it's also the real catalyst to the next part of the story, so hopefully it's good. I have the next five chapters or so written already, so updates should be quicker. In fact, I plan to update this when I get home from work tonight, so look for chapter seven to be up around midnight (eastern time) or so.

Also (as a shameless plug), please check out my new story "What's in a Name?" It's just a bit of _Charmed_ fun that I wrote on a whim, but I think it's enjoyable. That story will be updated nightly, so there will be no long waits!

Thank you all for the feedback! I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

_Katie_

**Setting**: November/December 2006

**Coming Home**

"You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right."

-Maya Angelou

**Six: The Truth**

Mariella had done nothing to begin dinner after she fled to the kitchen. She'd been sitting at the kitchen table when Paige came in to announce that she and Henry were going on a walk, and she was still sitting at the table when the door opened again nearly a half hour later. Piper walked into the kitchen, took one look at Mariella's face and immediately seemed to change her mind about her decision to enter the kitchen. Mariella couldn't quite blame her.

"Oh—uh—sorry," said Piper. She put up her hands in a placating gesture, as though Mariella was going to attack her. "I just needed to…uh… You know what? I'll just get it later. Sorry."

For some reason, Mariella called out, "Wait, Piper." Perhaps she knew that if she didn't speak now, she would never. Perhaps she just felt guilty about the way she had reacted earlier. She honestly wasn't sure.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. I know it must have seemed crazy."

Piper relaxed slightly. "It's okay," she said. "I…well, I can't say I understand, but I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason. I mean—"

"It was my brother's name," Mariella said abruptly. She knew that it was rude to interrupt, but Piper sounded as though she might go on for awhile. When Mariella looked up, however, Piper looked as though she had seen a ghost; all of the color had drained from her face.

"Oh?" said Piper. The word came out as a squeak.

"He died," said Mariella. "Years ago. During the war. Of course the names are just a coincidence, but it threw me for a moment. You understand, right? I mean, Paige told me about your sister."

"I…" said Piper; her voice sounded strangled. "I need to sit down." Piper crossed the room to a chair across from Mariella and collapsed into it looking faint.

"Oh dear," said Mariella. She hadn't meant to upset Piper so. She knew how hard it was to lose a sibling; she had lost her brother over sixty years ago and she still missed him. Of course Piper must feel similarly, and for her the wound was more recent. "I'm so sorry," she said.

Piper shook her head jerkily. "Don't apologize," she said. "You didn't do anything wrong." She laughed, but the sound was high-strung and anxious. "If you really knew…"

"What is it?" asked Mariella. She couldn't help herself. She'd always been curious.

Several times, Piper opened and closed her mouth, clearly trying to decide what to say. Or how to say it; Mariella wasn't sure. Then, to Mariella's disappointment, Piper said, "Would you tell me a little bit about your father?" which was clearly not any version of the truth.

"My father?" asked Mariella. "Why? What's going on?"

Piper shut her eyes for a moment. "Never mind," she said. She sighed loudly and looked Mariella directly in the eye. "I want to tell you something, but I'm going to sound crazy. And if I tell you this one thing, I'll have to tell you something else. It's a whole can of worms that could ruin everything. Not that it matters." Piper laughed again and it sounded even more hysterical. "You're going to find out everything as soon as they get back from the airport."

Mariella's stomach dropped. She suddenly felt as anxious as Piper sounded. What was the big secret? Somehow, she thought that she couldn't even begin to imagine the truth. "What is going on?" she asked again.

"I… It's crazy. I don't even want to believe it."

"Believe what?" she asked harshly. She was tired of dancing around the subject and she wanted a straight answer, however horrible it was. Judging by Piper's face, she understood Mariella's impatience.

"I think," said Piper slowly. "I think that you're my sister-in-law."


	7. In Which Piper Explains Herself

**Disclaimer: **Still don't own _Charmed_.

**A/n: **Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter. As promised, here's chapter seven, posted right around midnight. Expect chapter eight sometime tomorrow afternoon.

_Katie_

**Setting**: November/December 2006

**Coming Home**

"You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right."

-Maya Angelou

**Seven: In Which Piper Explains Herself**

Piper watched the emotions run through Mariella's wizened face: frank disbelief; anger; pity; sadness; and then settling on anger again. "I can't believe you would say something like that to me," she said. The anger was close to the surface and Piper could tell that the older woman would have liked to slap her. She still might. "Do you think this is funny? Is this a joke to you?"

"No," said Piper softly. "I told you that it's crazy."

"Of course it's crazy!" said Mariella. "And it's horrid! I confessed something to you and you take advantage of me! How dare you!"

"Please," said Piper, reaching out a placating hand and then withdrawing it quickly. "I'm not lying. Your brother died in World War II at the battle of Guadalcanal, right? You didn't mention anything about that. How would I know? He was born on May eleventh in 1924. Right before he left for the war he married a woman named Lillian."

"How do you know all of that?" asked Mariella. She had begun to cry and Piper felt horrifically guilty. She should never have come here. All she had accomplished was bringing up personal demons for a generous old woman. For Leo's sister. Oh God. What was Leo going to do when he got here?

"I told you," said Piper. "I'm married to your brother. My Leo is the same Leo that died in 1942."

"That's not possible," said Mariella. "Are you telling me you married a dead man?"

"Yes—No—It's complicated."

"Explain it," said Mariella. "Explain it right this instant."

Piper sighed. "After Leo died, he kind of became a…well, a guardian angel."

"A guardian angel?" said Mariella, the disbelief flaring back to the surface. "Of course."

"They're called Whitelighters," said Piper, and then she quickly added, "I know this is crazy, but it's all true. Whitelighters protect people. Specifically," she paused and sighed loudly. "Specifically witches. Which is how I met Leo. I'm a witch."

Mariella shook her head. "Get out of my house," she hissed. "Just get out, right now. I don't want to hear any more of this nonsense."

"It's true," said Piper. "Watch." She picked up the flower arrangement in the center of the table and threw it into the air, freezing it before a drop of water could spill. Mariella stared at it, open mouthed, and then reached out a tentative hand to touch it.

"How?" she whispered. "How did you do that?"

"Magic," said Piper. The sick feeling that she got whenever she had to explain what she was to a mortal flared once again. She still believed that her world would come crashing down again whenever she confessed the truth. "Magic is what brought me to Leo, even though he died so long ago."

Mariella wiped her eyes with her hands, shaking slightly. Piper turned and plucked the flowers from midair, giving Mariella a moment to compose herself. Already the anger that had palpably filled the room seemed to dissipate, but Piper still felt tense.

Before either woman could say another word, there was a loud knock at the front door. Piper bit her lip, still unprepared for the storm that was about to begin. For the first time in a long time, she had no idea how Leo would react to the situation.

"I can't do this," said Mariella. "I can't… He can't…"

"I'll get the door," said Piper. "Just wait here."

Piper headed for the front door, completely unsure of what to say or do. Every question she had ever had about Leo's past was coming back to her. She hadn't even known that he had a sister. How could this possibly end well?

Opening the door, Piper couldn't even muster a smile at the sight of Leo, Phoebe and Coop. "We have to talk," she said to Leo immediately. "Right now."

"What's going on?" asked Leo, stepping into the house. He sounded concerned for her; worried. Little did he know. She pulled him near the stairs, a little away from Phoebe and Coop.

"You never told me you had a sister," said Piper quietly.

Leo looked flustered. For a moment, she thought he was going to be defensive, as he usually was when she asked about his past, but then the real meaning of her words seemed to dawn on him. "How do you know I had a sister?" he asked.

"Because," said Piper, quite aware of Phoebe and Coop's curious looks, "she's here."

"What?" asked Leo.

"She's here. She's Paige's grandmother. And she knows. I told her about you. About us."

"What?"

"I had to, Leo. What should I have done? Just let you walk in and let her see you for the first time in sixty-five years?"

"Piper!"

"She's in the kitchen, Leo."

Leo shook his head, glancing over Piper's head down the hall, as though Mariella would suddenly appear. "I need to get out of here," he said, and to Piper's shock, he actually turned to leave. She grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"You're not going anywhere!" she said. "You can't just run away from this!"

"Don't yell at me," said Leo, pulling away from her. "You have no idea. I can't do this."

"Piper," said Phoebe tentatively. "What's going on?"

Piper glared at Phoebe, not really cross at her sister, but desperate to make Phoebe stay quiet. This wasn't about their family. This wasn't even really about her and Leo. This was all about Leo and his sister.

"You can't leave, Leo," said Piper more calmly. "It's not fair to you or to her. You were obviously brought together for a reason."

"Don't," said Leo. "Don't do that to me."

Piper felt foolish and useless, but she also felt determined to somehow get through to her husband. And she would not let him leave this house, even if she had to keep him there by force. She'd freeze him if she had to.

As it turned out, she didn't have to. Before she could do anything, there were footsteps behind them and Leo stood motionless, almost as if she had frozen him. Piper turned around, though she knew that Mariella was standing there, and then stepped to Leo's side, placing a comforting hand on his arm.

"Hi," said Phoebe, stepping forward towards Mariella and extending her hand. She had to be quite aware of the strange tension in the air; Mariella had not taken her eyes off of Leo and vice versa. After a second, Phoebe seemed to realize that Mariella was not even aware of her presence, and she stepped back.

"Leo," whispered Mariella. She had placed a hand on the railing of the staircase and this seemed to be the only thing holding her up.

"Hi Ella," said Leo.

Piper took a deep breath and patted Leo's arm, then stepped away from him. She grabbed Phoebe's arm and dragged her from the hall, Coop following behind like a puppy. "What is going on?" asked Phoebe the second they were in the living room.

"That's Leo's sister," said Piper.

"What?" said Phoebe and Coop in unison.

"Paige's grandmother is Leo's sister," said Piper.

"Did you know?" asked Phoebe.

"Of course not," said Piper. "I didn't even know Leo had a sister. You know him. He never talks about the past."

"Wow," said Coop. "This is… That's… Wow."

"Does Paige know?" asked Phoebe.

"Not yet," said Piper. "At least, not for sure. When we got here and Mariella heard the boys' names and Leo's she reacted so strangely. And I told Paige that something was going on. I told her that something was up. That Mariella must have known Leo. But I had no idea that she was his sister."

Phoebe glanced towards the hall and Piper got the distinct impression that Phoebe wanted to eavesdrop. She didn't however, and Piper felt ambivalent; relieved because Phoebe was going to give them privacy and annoyed because she too wanted to know what was going on.

"What is Leo going to do?" asked Phoebe.

Piper shrugged. She honestly had no idea.


	8. The Conversation in the Hall

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Charmed. _

**A/n: **Thanks for all of the reviews! I really, really appreciate them.

_Katie_

**Setting**: November/December 2006

**Coming Home**

"You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right."

Maya Angelou

**Eight: The Conversation in the Hall**

Leo had never felt so stunned in his life. Even when he had woken up so many years ago Up There and discovered that he was dead, he hadn't felt this shocked. A Whitelighter cut all ties to his mortal life. That was the first rule. He had cut all ties and moved on and this just seemed surreal.

"Is this a dream?" asked Mariella, echoing his thoughts.

"I don't know," said Leo.

Leo had tried so hard over the years not to think about his old family. For a long time it wasn't very difficult; he just did what was in his nature: compartmentalized. He had This Life and That Life and he thought the two would never meet. He never had any intention of opening the box he put That Life into. Ever. Because he had moved on, and he knew that if he ever did open the box it would explode, messy and incomplete and lacking and fulfilling and painful and excruciatingly happy all over This Life. And he'd be forced to think about things he didn't want to. Which he was; right now.

"You're an angel?" she said.

"No," said Leo. "Not anymore."

"Piper said—"

"I was when she met me. I was up until about two years ago. But not any more."

"Oh."

Life was much easier when it wasn't messy. And that's what he liked. Just a short while ago he had been able to put his relationship with Piper in one box; his working relationship with the Charmed Ones in another; his job in general in a third box. And all the boxes had sat neatly in a row on a shelf and for years they had never mixed. But in the past two years, they had all come together and look what had happened: everything had exploded and he had gone crazy. Now all he had left was This Life and That Life, and of course Piper wanted to be let in on That Life. He never wanted to let her, though. And now she was.

How chaotic would things get this time?

"How are you?" he asked. The question seemed ridiculous. The last time he had seen his sister she was twenty years old and pregnant. He barely recognized that girl in the old woman who stood before him now.

"How am I?" she said. "Leo, I've spent a majority of my life thinking that my only brother was dead. Now I find out he isn't. How do you think I am?"

"It's not like that," said Leo defensively. "I was dead in that life. I didn't think I'd ever see anyone from that time again."

Mariella began to cry; silent tears rolling down her cheeks. She had been crying the same way the last time he had seen her, when he left for the army. "How could you not tell me?"

"It was against the rules," said Leo. That sounded absurd now, and if Piper had still been there she would have rolled her eyes.

"Rules?"

"My life ended, Ella," said Leo. "I had to leave it behind."

"What about Lillian?" she demanded. "What about our parents? Do you know what happened to them after you died? They were never the same! Mama's heart was broken."

Leo felt tears spring into his eyes unwillingly and anger flared in his chest. "Don't you dare," he said, stepping towards her and pointing a finger in her face, "put that guilt on me. I was dead!"

"But you weren't!" said Mariella, her voice rising. "You're standing right here! According to your wife you've been around for sixty-four years! Where have you been?"

"I don't know how to explain it to you any other way," said Leo, also yelling. "The kid you knew as your brother wasn't me anymore. I'm not him now!"

"Oh please. Look at you, Leo! You look maybe fifteen years older than you did when you left."

"That's not what I mean," said Leo through clenched teeth. This was exactly what he hadn't wanted to happen. What was Piper thinking? That they'd just hug and reunite like a happy little family? She didn't understand; she had never understood. And right now he was angrier with her than he had ever been before.

"Do you know how much I missed you?" asked Mariella. "Do you know how much I needed you? How could you just abandon me?"

"You had John," said Leo. Then he winced. "You did _have_ John, right? He came home from the war?"

"Yes," she said. "But that's not the point, Leo. You were my only brother. When Mama died I wanted you to be there with me. I wanted you there when Dad died. I kept thinking about how alone I felt; everyone I grew up with was gone!"

_Everyone I grew up with was gone_… Hadn't Piper said almost the same thing to him once? And all he had wanted to do was fix it. He hadn't spared a thought for his sister in that context.

"And I really needed you when John died," she said softly. "You don't know how many times I thought of something to tell you; a joke or a story. And you were gone."

Leo swallowed hard, but it did nothing to quell the large lump in his throat. "Maybe I was wrong," he said. "Maybe. But Ella, you have to understand, I wouldn't have been able to function if I didn't give up thinking about my family. And if I had gone back to you they just would have forced me to move on. Because those were the rules."

"But it was okay for you to get married and start a new family?" she demanded.

"You have no idea what Piper and I have been through," he said in a low, angry voice. "No idea. I barely made it to where I am today."

Mariella shook her head. "But you're not an angel anymore, are you Leo? You told me you gave it up two years ago. Yet this is the first time I've heard from you. Where have you been for two years?"

"Avoiding this," said Leo. The words were mean, but he felt horrible, guilty, and the words were almost a defense against what he felt.

"You know what else I know?" said Mariella, ignoring him. "I know that you're lying when you say you haven't thought about me. About Mama and Dad. You know how I know? Because you named your son after Dad."

"That's…complicated," said Leo.

"Isn't everything?" asked Mariella. "I don't even know who you are anymore."

"I don't know you either," said Leo, though it sounded less like an accusation.

"Well whose fault is that, Leo?" she asked. She turned and started to walk down the hall. "I understand if you want to leave. We can both just pretend this never happened."

Leo watched her until she disappeared.


	9. Running Interference

**Disclaimer:** _Charmed_ is still not mine.

**A/n: **Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm so glad that everyone is enjoying this story. I hope it continues to please.

_Katie_

**Setting**: November/December 2006

**Coming Home**

"You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right."

Maya Angelou

**Nine: Running Interference**

Paige and Henry had arrived back at the house to find Phoebe and Coop sitting awkwardly in the living room and to hear what sounded like Piper and Leo yelling at each other upstairs. Grammy was no where to be seen. The entire situation made Paige uneasy. Perhaps Piper had been right and something was up.

"Please, please tell me that Piper and Leo are just arguing over who forgot to bring the Christmas presents or something," said Paige as she collapsed onto the couch next to Phoebe.

"I could tell you that," said Phoebe. "But it would be a lie." Phoebe glanced at Coop and then said, "Leo is your grandmother's brother and Piper told her the truth and made Leo talk to her. Your grandma and Leo had a huge fight and now Piper and Leo are fighting. There, you're all up to date."

Paige gawked at her sister. She didn't think she had felt this blindsided since Phoebe and Piper had dragged her up to the attic and forced her to read the spell to vanquish Shax.

"I know I'm a little slow on the uptake," said Henry, "but what's the fighting about? Shouldn't this be something exciting? You know, a double family reunion."

"How would you feel if some relative of yours that you thought was dead suddenly popped up alive and well?" asked Phoebe. Henry blanched at the comment, but Paige didn't feel up to asking him why.

"Point taken," said Henry absently.

"Well this is just great," said Paige. "I wanted one nice, peaceful Christmas with my whole family, and now everyone's fighting."

"What are the odds you can sort this out?" asked Phoebe.

"Me?" said Paige. "Why me?"

"Well, she's your grandmother. Can't you talk to her? I mean, you understand where Leo's coming from, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," said Paige. She groaned. "Fine. I'll talk to her. I'll try to convince her to talk to Leo. Hopefully Piper will calm him down a little."

Eventually, Paige offered to go find Grammy to try to talk to her. Phoebe promised to keep Leo around if she saw him try to storm out of the house. The more she thought about it, the more Paige realized that she didn't mind trying to play peacemaker. After all, Leo had helped her with Piper and Phoebe when they had first met. As strange as it was, perhaps now Paige could return the favor. She headed down to the den, Grammy's sanctuary, and knocked on the door. "Grammy?" she said.

"Please go away, Paige," said Grammy. "I just want to be alone for a little while."

"Grammy, you've been in there for hours. Please let me in. I just want to talk."

There was silence in response, which Paige took as an affirmative (Grammy would certainly make it known if she wanted Paige to leave). She opened the door and entered the room; Grammy was sitting in one of the chairs across the room, an old photo album open on her lap. Paige crossed the room and knelt on the floor next to her grandmother.

"I take it you heard what happened," said Grammy.

"Yeah," said Paige. She smiled. "You go for one walk and look what you miss." Unfortunately, Grammy did not respond to the humor.

"I know you're upset, Grammy. Anyone would be. That's a huge thing to find out. And magic on top of it? I know how hard that is."

Grammy finally looked at her, putting a hand against her cheek. "Can you do magic too, sweetheart?"

Paige hesitated, but only for a moment. "Yes," she said. "And it's the best thing that's happened to me. I wouldn't have Piper and Phoebe if it hadn't been for magic. Grammy, I wouldn't exist if it wasn't for magic."

"What do you mean?" asked Grammy.

"My biological dad was a Whitelighter," said Paige. "Like Leo. He was my biological mom's Whitelighter. That's how they met." Unconsciously, Paige was sure, Grammy drew back a little. "They had to give me up because of the rules about witches and Whitelighters."

"More rules," said Grammy huffily.

"Yes," said Paige. "They're big on rules. You have no idea how hard Piper and Leo had to fight to be together."

Grammy snorted. "So he'll break _those_ rules," she said.

"It's not like that, Grammy," said Paige. "I know you're mad at him, but try to think of it from his point of view. He lost everything too, Grammy. When he died he had to leave behind his family and friends. If he had tried to find you, tried to stay in contact, they would have sent him on or recycled his soul."

"That's what Leo said," said Grammy, clearly still skeptical.

"So you know," said Paige. "Either way he would have lost you. At least as a Whitelighter he was able to do good for a lot of years."

"But he hasn't been a…a Whitelighter for two years now. So the rules shouldn't have applied any more."

"They made Leo choose between Piper and the kids and being a Whitelighter," said Paige. "For a lot of different reasons I'm not going to get into right now. And Leo chose Piper. About seven months later, Leo was taken from us to _motivate_ Piper to fight in a battle. She only just got him back six months ago. So the past two years haven't exactly been blissful."

Grammy shook her head, this time clearly disgusted. "I don't know about this magic," she said. "It's sounds as though it can be very cruel."

Paige smiled. "Now you sound like Piper. She blames magic for a lot of what's gone wrong in her life."

For a moment, Grammy looked as though she wanted to pursue this, but then the indication passed. Still feeling as though her grandmother was angry and skeptical, Paige said, "I can really relate to Leo, you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just the idea of having to choose between people, or cutting people out of your life. I have been pulling away from the family, Grammy. But it's not because I stopped loving you all. It's because the magic—what my sisters and I do—is so hard to explain. And it's so dangerous. So it was just easier to compartmentalize. To not let my two lives mix. And I think Leo's the same way. How could he have explained everything to you? Look how you're struggling with it; it seems like he was right to let you go."

"I wouldn't go that far," said Grammy. She looked at Paige stubbornly, but then her face softened and she sighed. "I'm just so overwhelmed. And hurt. I love Leo so much. To know he's been alive all of these years and hasn't tried to contact me… It's hard."

"I know, Grammy," said Paige. "But just try to forgive him. Now that you've found each other, you don't want to lose him again, do you?"

Grammy shook her head. "No."

"Good," said Paige. She got to her feet and bent to hug her grandmother.

"You grew up so well, Paige," said Grammy. "Your parents would be proud."

Paige smiled. "Thanks, Grammy. That means a lot."

Grammy stood, and in the process, the album in her lap fell to the floor. Paige bent to pick it up and looked at it curiously. "Photos?" she asked, opening the album. Inside were pictures she had never seen; very old black and whites.

"Me," said Grammy, "and Leo when were little. And a lot of our parents and the family."

"Oh my gosh," said Paige. "This is fantastic. You have to show this to Piper." Grammy grunted, and Paige looked at her inquiringly. "What?"

"It's just…" Grammy sighed. "The last time I saw Leo he was happily married to Lillian. It's odd to see him with Piper. It seems…wrong."

"Piper and Leo are soul mates," said Paige. "Literally. They were destined to be together. And you'd like Piper if you gave her a chance. She'd love to see this album. She knows nothing about Leo's life before he became a Whitelighter and she's always been curious."

"Okay," said Grammy, but Paige wasn't sure if she was agreeing to give Piper a chance or if she was simply acknowledging Paige's point of view. Still, if Piper and Leo were staying, Grammy was bound to come around.

"Where is Leo?" asked Grammy.

"Upstairs," said Paige. She didn't add that the last she had heard, he had been arguing with Piper.

Grammy smiled sadly. "Wish me luck," she said.

"Good luck, Grammy," said Paige.


	10. Reconciliations

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Charmed_, doo dah, doo dah. I do not own _Charmed_, oh the doo dah day.

**A/n: **I really, really appreciate the feedback on this story. I was nervous about how the plot would be received, so I'm very happy to know that you all are enjoying it. This chapter isn't too long. I'm back to writing and posting instead of just posting what I already have written, so updates might take slightly longer. I really want to get this story done before the new year, but we'll see how it goes. Anyway, thank you all again!

_Katie_

**Setting**: November/December 2006

**Coming Home**

"You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right."

Maya Angelou

**Ten: Reconciliations**

"I know you're upset," said Piper calmly. "But you can't take it out on me. This is not my fault."

"You didn't have to tell her," said Leo. "Why didn't you call? Phoebe had her cell phone. If you had it all figured out then why didn't you warn me. I would have just gotten on a plane back home."

"Oh sure," said Piper. "Just run away. I never knew you to be so cowardly, Leo."

"Did you hear what happened down in that hall?" Leo demanded, his voice rising despite the fact that the boys were napping a couple of rooms away. "She's furious! There's a reason Whitelighters are supposed to give up their old lives and this is why! Family can't handle this kind of information!"

"You're overreacting. I think she handled it fairly well. You just can't handle that you suddenly have to deal with your past."

"That's what it really comes down to, right, Piper? You just want to know all about my past! You always have! And lucky you, here it falls right into your lap!"

"Don't be irrational!" said Piper, her voice rising too. "I was scared out of my mind when I realized the truth! You know I hate telling people about magic! I felt nauseous the entire time!"

"Yeah. Sure." Leo threw up his hands. "I'm getting out of here," he said. "I'm on the next flight back to San Francisco."

"You can't just leave," said Piper. "What about the boys?"

"I can't stay here, Piper! Don't ask me to do it. I don't want to be here. Ella doesn't want me to be here. So leave it alone and don't try to guilt me into staying!"

The fight continued in this manner for another twenty minutes when they were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. Piper was never so relieved for her sisters' interference; the circular, stupid fight was frustrating and going nowhere. When Piper opened the door, however, she found Mariella there instead of one or both of her sisters.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," said Mariella. "Can I come in? I'd like to talk to Leo."

"Good luck," said Piper, and she left the room, closing the door behind her. Miraculously, the boys hadn't woken up during the fight, so Piper headed downstairs. She found everyone else in the living room

"Are you okay?" asked Paige. Piper hadn't bothered to stop moving when she came into the room; she was now pacing the rug.

"I'm just great," said Piper.

"I talked to Grammy," said Paige. "I think they're going to be able to work it out."

"I hope she can work a miracle," said Piper. "She's dealing with the world's most stubborn man!"

"It's Leo. He'll come around."

Piper grunted in response and continued her pacing. After a few minutes of relative silence, Phoebe said, "So, does this make you Paige's great-aunt?"

Henry laughed and trying to turn it into a cough. Piper stopped pacing and turned to her family. Paige was grinning and even Coop looked amused. After a moment, Piper couldn't help but laugh and soon they were all laughing.

"I can't wait for my uncles to get here," said Paige in midst her giggling. "You can meet your nephews. They're only thirty-some years older than you."

Slowly, they all stopped laughing and Piper looked at Paige, concerned. "Oh no," she said. "What are we going to tell your uncles?"

* * *

Mariella entered the room cautiously. Leo was standing near the bed with his arms crossed defensively over his chest and Mariella felt overwhelmed by nostalgia; Leo looked just as he had when he was a little boy and he hadn't gotten his way. For a moment, she felt as though she had time traveled, but then Leo said, "I was just getting ready to leave," and the feeling passed.

"I don't want you to go," said Mariella.

"You could have fooled me," said Leo bitterly. Mariella quelled the urge to throw something at him, still marveling in the fact that it was so easy to fall into the sibling tendencies she hadn't experienced in sixty years.

"Will you stop sulking for a minute and listen to me?" she asked more harshly than she intended. Leo looked at her, half-amused, half-angry and she took a deep breath to calm herself. "I talked to Paige. And even though I still don't entirely agree with what you did, I realize that there is validity to your side of the story."

"That's big of you, Ella," said Leo; to Mariella's relief, he mostly sounded sincere.

"I also decided that I just want to be happy about whatever brought us back together after all of these years. I don't want to spend the rest of my life knowing that you're alive and not acknowledging it. I want to get the chance to know you again. A few more years with my brother are better than none, right?"

Leo's eyes flitted from one spot in the room to another, not able to settle on any one object. "Leo?" said Mariella. Finally, he looked at her with large, sad eyes. Mariella swallowed hard, suddenly feeling vulnerable; maybe she had put herself on the spot for nothing.

"I'm…afraid," said Leo finally.

"Afraid of what?" asked Mariella. The statement was the last she expected; what was there to be afraid of?

"I'm afraid of…I don't know, Ella! Of being overwhelmed by regret over what I missed out on. Of thinking about who I was before and if I've changed for the worse. Of having to lose you again…"

Unwillingly, Mariella felt her eyes fill with tears. She fought hard not to let them fall. "Isn't this worth those risks?" she asked. "Those fears. Leo, I know I said some hurtful things before, but I don't want to let you just walk out of my life again. Please. Can't we just try?"

There was a terse silence that Mariella wasn't sure would ever end, but finally Leo said, "I'll stay," and Mariella breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you," she said.


End file.
